Source: New York Times
Across the U.S. leaders in education are looking for new ways to solve the issue surrounding the excellence gap, where underserved children and minorities are falling behind because they are excluded or disadvantaged in situations where they could be placed in gifted education courses and programs.
In some cases, magnet schools have changed their admissions process and have introduced methods that consider all students of-age, instead of just those that are recommended by parents or teachers. Additionally, the admissions process for prestigious programs has stopped placing so much weight on testing, and has emphasized performance in class.
Leaders in education have also recognized the importance of noting students who stand out of from their peers in their own schools and neighborhoods, who are “outliers” in their classroom performance, rather than just admitting the top students across all schools.
Over the last five years the results have been evident, with more Hispanic and black students being admitted into these programs as well as more students from low-income families.
Read Full Story: New York Times